When I started this Glenn Ford film, a well staged car chase with mobsters made me believe that Ford was a crook and I was going to see him try to be like other gang actors like Cagney or Robinson. For some reason the opening sequence by Columbia Pictures is better than most films in this era. Then suddenly we went from a noir to a Christmas movie.
Joe Miracle goes under another man's identity for much of the film. Evelyn Keyes meets the assumed ids wife and assumes Joe is married for a while. The story then lurches along with Joe tries to help the mission she is working at. All the while the mob is looking for him because he stole $100, 000 worth of Grover Cleveland's from his own casino which has been taken away from him and his partner by the mob.
I think the changes in the film are because Columbia suddenly decided this was going to be a "B" feature for the holidays. It's too bad as there is a waste of a cast that deserved better. Because it became a holiday light comedy of sorts Percy Kilbride (Pa Kettle of the Kettle film series) get added into the latter part of the film. Things go along and the love interest is finally fully developed between Ford and Keyes.
Then in a really strange twist the mob catches up with Joe and he gets shot. A really strange way to end a somewhat warm holiday film, and entirely predictable. Still the film kind of robs us again here as there is a sub plot with a scandal sheet newspaper columnist all the way through the film which gets sort of cut off after he saves Joe from the mob late in the picture. It's yet another reason this film comes off a bit lower than it should be.
Joe Miracle goes under another man's identity for much of the film. Evelyn Keyes meets the assumed ids wife and assumes Joe is married for a while. The story then lurches along with Joe tries to help the mission she is working at. All the while the mob is looking for him because he stole $100, 000 worth of Grover Cleveland's from his own casino which has been taken away from him and his partner by the mob.
I think the changes in the film are because Columbia suddenly decided this was going to be a "B" feature for the holidays. It's too bad as there is a waste of a cast that deserved better. Because it became a holiday light comedy of sorts Percy Kilbride (Pa Kettle of the Kettle film series) get added into the latter part of the film. Things go along and the love interest is finally fully developed between Ford and Keyes.
Then in a really strange twist the mob catches up with Joe and he gets shot. A really strange way to end a somewhat warm holiday film, and entirely predictable. Still the film kind of robs us again here as there is a sub plot with a scandal sheet newspaper columnist all the way through the film which gets sort of cut off after he saves Joe from the mob late in the picture. It's yet another reason this film comes off a bit lower than it should be.